Clarkston, Ga

I had worked in Clarkston, GA for ten years. It wasn't until I opened my eyes that I found out I was home.

My birthplace was in Central New York State but I have had a hard time ever calling any particular place “home”. Perhaps it is because I have lived in so many places – thirty-four to be exact. All of that changed in 2012 when I began teaching at the Proskuneo School of the Arts in Clarkston, Georgia.

Here is the irony. I have worked at Georgia Perimeter College in Clarkston since August 23rd, 2004 when I moved to Georgia. Each day I worked and then I left to go back to my house in Loganville, never “seeing” Clarkston.

Clarkston is a unique place. It is 1.44 square miles and is home to nearly 9,000 refugees from war-torn countries around the world. But I never “saw” them. And now, here I was teaching photography (perhaps looking through a new lens), building relationships, and falling in love with students from Nepal, Sudan, the Congo, and Burma. God was beginning to open my heart wide. In May of 2013, I found a house for rent and was drawn in. I wanted to be near the people that I loved and so I moved here to live. I have lived here ever since.

There is much work to be done in Clarkston. There are many people who already know Jesus. At Proskuneo, we get to come alongside them and support them as they settle into life here. It is a struggle to not fall into the traps of American culture, especially for the youth. Proskuneo School of the Arts is a wonderful way to “catch” the youth of our community and to give them a safe place to land. There are also many people who don’t know Christ. The Great Commission calls us to GO. We are privileged to live in a community where “going” means stepping outside our front doors.

I love that God brought me here. There is a train that runs near my house. When I hear it rattle down the tracks it reminds me that I have been on a journey that has led me home.